Brit advisor Tariq Ali says Telesur's editorial line must remain independent
Pakistani-born, British left-winger Tariq Ali has been visiting Venezuela for the launch of South American TV channel, Telesur. The new station, seen as an answer to CNN in Spanish, has been funded by the governments of Venezuela, Argentina, Cuba and Uruguay.
Tariq Ali is a member of Telesur's advisory board, along with Le Monde Diplomatique editor, Ignacio Ramonet, US film star Danny Glover, Nobel Peace Prize winner, Adolfo Perez Esquivel and Uruguayan writer, Eduardo Galeano.
Ali proposes that Telsur's editorial line be completely independent, maintaining that it will allow the channel to be critical of all the region's governments and avoid any attempts at censorship. Tariq Ali has experience in broadcasting and is also connected to the Arab channel, Al Jazeera TV, which has become a model for Telesur to follow ... "we have agreed to maintain a separation between the ownership and editorial structures."
The intellectual praises the first news report he viewed last Sunday saying the novel form of presentation sets the style. One of the aims of the channel on the recommendation of board members is to give viewers the power to critique the channel. Ali adds that one of the more immediate challenges for the future is to produce programs for women, children and Latin Americans living in the USA.
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